


A Night With A Stranger

by coffeexwhiskey



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff, I was never good at tagging, Romace, i just thought of tiny houses and then this happened, i love cliffs so, strangers to still strangers i guess, the Starks are mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-13
Updated: 2020-01-13
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:21:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22243249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coffeexwhiskey/pseuds/coffeexwhiskey
Summary: He peered through his window and there stood a girl; soaked from the downpour and shivering in place. Her arms wrapped around her small frame as she buried her face deeper in her coat. She banged a hand on the door again, forcing Gendry to open it. And when she pulled her hood down, Gendry realized he had just ruined the promise he made to his mother.
Relationships: Arya Stark/Gendry Waters
Comments: 12
Kudos: 136





	A Night With A Stranger

**Author's Note:**

> Editing? What's that?

Gendry was eleven when he was first introduced to a hammer by a man who helped his mother fix the leaking roof on their humble home. By thirteen, he already knew the basics of building things from scratch. When he was eighteen, he worked for a construction company for extra income to prepare for college where he took architecture.

As soon as he got his degree and passed his licensure exam, he started planning for his dream home. It didn’t take long for him to show it to his mother and promised her that aside from her, the only other person he’s going to bring in that house will be his future wife, his one true love. His mother kissed his forehead that afternoon, reminding him of how proud she was of her son.

And then the day came; they’ve been together for years and he was almost sure that she’s the woman of his dreams. But when his mother died, he lost track of everything else and she left him.

His heart was broken twice over when his mother left the world and the woman he thought would be his wife left him during his lowest days.

Everything went upside down for Gendry.

He left the childhood home that he shared with his mother and moved to the house he built by the cliff and never left that house, locking himself away from the rest of the world. And if he did, that’s because he needed supplies if he still wanted to live.

If.

***

It was one of those nights when the wind blew mad and the crash of water at the bottom of the cliff was so loud, it harmonized with the heavy rain.

The fire crackled on his side as he sat on the thick rug. His back rested on the couch and a book in his hands, that’s how he liked to spend his cold nights alone. So when a deafening pound hit his front door, Gendry quickly got up on his feet, wondering what kind of person would come to see him with weather as bad as his life.

He peered through his window and there stood a girl; soaked from the downpour and shivering in place. Her arms wrapped around her small frame as she buried her face deeper in her coat. She banged a hand on the door again, forcing Gendry to open it.

She said she was hiking up the cliff when the storm started and the lightning startled her dog. Nymeria, that’s what she called the dog. She explained that she had to chase after Nymeria and they ended up by the forest behind his house. Gendry had to lean over to find the said dog, shuddering like her owner as she stood guard of his property. The girl asked if she could stay at his place while she waited for the storm to calm down and she and Nymeria will be on their way.

Instinctively stepping aside, Gendry watched as the woman and her dog step inside his threshold. And when she pulled her hood down, Gendry realized he had just ruined the promise he made to his mother.

***

Gendry watched as the girl, _woman_ , removed her coat. She held it by the hood and lifted it up and stared embarrassingly on the floor, where the drips from her coat made a puddle.

“I’m sorry. I’m really so-“

Then the dog shook its body, drying itself.

The woman watched Gendry wipe off the sprinkle of water from his face.

“Oh, Gods! Nymeria!” she hissed to her companion before looking back to him and continued apologizing.

“I’m so sorry. She’s just cold,” she ran to the dog’s side and tried to dry her with the coat that was also soaking wet.

Gendry shook his head, a little annoyed at the unexpected visitors. Though we won’t admit it to himself, she found the pair quite amusing. The woman dropped on her knees and scolded the dog as if it could understand her words.

He walked to the other side of the house, ignoring the curious look from the stranger. Pulling out two towels and a blanket from his cabinet, he handed them to the woman.

But instead of accepting them, she stared at him keenly, her arms wrapped around Nymeria.

Gendry couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

_Does she really think I’d do something crazy to her and her dog? They’re the ones who came asking for help!_

“You and your dog are cold,” he moved closer to her and dropped the towels and blanket on her lap, “You can dry yourself. I’ll go get us some tea.”

Her eyes were still on him as he walked to the kitchen which was not far from where they were. As he waited for the water to boil, he peeked over at the foyer to check on the pair only to find the woman taking her shirt off, thankfully leaving her tank top on.

Gendry squeezed his eyes shut, at least there’s one thing he’ll be admitting tonight; she’s beautiful that’s for sure.

After he fixed them both some tea, he found them sitting on the rug by the fire; the woman peering over the book that he’d left behind.

“ _A global history of architecture_. You like architecture?” she asked as she took the mug that he offered, mumbling a shy ‘thank you’.

Gendry sat opposite her, returning to his position earlier before his visitors interrupted his silent night. He took a long sip from his own mug before bobbing his head.

“I’m an architect,” he replied simply.

He watched as the woman’s eyes went round, her lips still pressed on the mouth of the mug.

“What?”

The woman chuckled and shook her head, “Nothing. Just that my older brother’s an engineer and my sister’s an interior designer.”

This time, his eyes widened.

“Really?”

“Yep?”

“What? Is it like, your family’s thing? Houses and stuff?”

She chuckled again, “By stuff if you mean building things and making them pretty, then yes.”

Gendry tapped his fingers over the mug in interest. He noticed how she ran her hand over the dog’s fur as her eyes studied the dancing flames before them.

“Nymeria,” Gendry muttered.

“What?” her head snapped to face him, her questioning grey eyes twinkled thanks to the light coming from the fire.

He swallowed the big lump that started to form on his throat and licked his chapped lips before answering.

“Your dog. Her name’s Nymeria,” he stated.

That made her mouth curve into a smile, “Yeah, named after the-“

“Warrior queen,” Gendry interrupted.

She’s impressed, he thought.

“Exactly,” the broad smile on her face made her more youthful. “You know about her?”

Of course, he does.

“My mother liked history. Well, more like fantasy history if that’s a thing. Stories about princes and princesses and dragons and valiryan steel,” he let out a sad laugh, which something the stranger didn’t miss because the beautiful smile was gone and was replaced by an apologetic look.

“Liked?” her brows were knitted together as she slowly placed her mug on the space beside her.

Gendry regretted bringing that up.

_Another remorseful look._

So instead of saying more, he simply replied, “She passed away not very long ago. I don’t really want to talk about it.”

The woman perched on her seat, “Right. Sorry.”

“That’s fine,” he muttered.

They finished their tea in comfortable silence, which surprised Gendry.

A stranger.

In his house.

Drinking tea.

In comfortable silence.

He believed it had something to do with the weather outside; the still pouring rain, the harsh wind, the crashing of water below them and the sizzling of the woods from his fireplace that made it easier and relaxing for them both to sit in silence… or the fact that for the first time in a long time; he had a companion.

He stole a muted glance towards her; she was staring on the fireplace again, her hand still rubbing on her dog’s ear.

_Deep in her thoughts._

“So,” he started. “Hiking, huh?”

She nodded, shifting on the floor to face him completely.

“You and Nymeria like hiking?” he asked.

“Yep. My girl loves the outdoors. Don’t you Nym?” she cuddled the dog and giggled when it licked her cheek happily.

Gendry couldn’t help the laugh that escaped his mouth as the two started to wrestle on his floor.

Nymeria was strong, he thought. The golden lab jumped on top of her owner and clawed on the blanket that was wrapped around her petite frame and licked the stranger’s face excitedly.

The woman laughed as she pried her pet away, the blanket was forgotten on the floor.

“Well, why don’t you join us? Right, Nym?”

And for the first time, he heard the dog bark as it lunged towards him.

Nymeria gave him the same enthusiastic licks as it gave its owner. It rolled on top of him making him grunt loudly at how heavy she was. He could hear the woman laughing from her seat.

“That’s enough, Nymeria. That’s enough. You’re going to kill him,” she said through her sniggers.

Nymeria listened immediately making him huff in relief. He groaned at the amount of dog hair his clothes had collected.

“Sorry about that,” she said cheekily. She crawled to his side and helped him pluck Nymeria’s hair from his sweat pants and sweater.

It was only then that he noticed the smell of rain and wood that lingered on her skin.

She looked up in time to see him move his gaze away from her.

He cleared his throat awkwardly only to receive a chuckle from the stranger.

“Go ahead, you can stare,” she teased, bumping her shoulder to his.

“I wasn’t staring.”

“So what were you doing?” she stirred closer to him, her face mere inches away from his.

“Just… I wan’t-“

“Yeah you were,” she winked playfully before standing up.

He watched as she walked to the large glass sliding door connecting to the patio. If it wasn’t so dark; she would have seen the water down below.

“It’s still raining,” she stated, crossing her arms as she looked over to the darkness.

“There’s a storm actually.”

He only heard her hum in reply.

She stood by the window for a few minutes before turning around to ask him what time it was already.

He stood from the ground after picking up their empty mugs and checked the clock in the living room, “Almost eight-thirty.”

Gendry noticed how she deflated, “Sorry to disturb you. I knew it was a bad idea to go out on a hike this late but Nymeria-“

“That’s ok,” Gendry interrupted and shrugged. Only then did he realize something, “Dinner. Want some dinner?”

His invitation seemed to lighten her mood up.

The sound of food made their empty stomachs grumble in excitement.

He guided her towards his kitchen where she sat on a stool by the breakfast counter and watched him go about his cooking.

“So, you cook?” she asked as he chopped some onions.

“Not really.”

“But you have to.”

“When you live alone… Yes, you have to,” she chuckled at his reply.

“I feel yah.”

Gendry got himself busy with his spaghetti and meatballs, not forgetting to open a bottle of red for them to share. He was stirring the tomato sauce when he realized something.

“I don’t have kibble,” he eyed Nymeria who was playing with a floor mat.

The woman followed his line of sight and shrugged, “No worries, she eats human food once a day. It makes them live longer I read.”

As he plated their dinner, he made sure Nymeria had her own plate and placed it beside the small dining table.

He watched as his visitor took her first bite and was glad she didn’t spit it out.

“Though it’s a bit salty still,” she gave a chef’s kiss. “This is good.”

It was the perfect time for him to ask about her work since he already mentioned his job, though she was a bit surprised that he worked from home and asked if he ever gets lonely. “Not really,” he gave a half shrug. “I’m used to it.”

It was during that meal that he learned that she worked as a liaison and paralegal for her family’s company. He also found out that not only does she have an interior designer sister and engineer brother but she also has another brother who’s a lawyer.

“I work with him most of the time, obviously,” she said, wiping the side of her mouth with a napkin.

“So you all work in your family’s company?” he asked in curiosity.

She shook her head, “The funny part is it’s just us the children who run the business. My dad’s a small-town politician and my mum’s a veterinarian. My two younger brothers will likely join us once they're done with school.”

With every piece of information she shared, Gendry couldn’t help but be shocked. Aside from the fact that she had a large family – a total opposite from his, all of them seemed quite successful too.

_She clearly came from a rich family._

Again, something they both don’t have in common.

She talked more about moving into the big city when her siblings decided to start their own construction business soon after she graduated from college. She talked about how she got Nymeria, a gift from her parents when she got jealous when one of her older brothers received one for his birthday.

That’s when he concluded that the woman in front of him was talkative. He chuckled silently at the realization. Who would have thought?

She offered to wash the dishes, insisting that since he already cooked for them, let her and Nymeria stay in his house and warmed them up, washing the dishes was the least she could do.

“This place is cool,” she commented out of nowhere as he prepared a bowl of water for Nymeria.

“Thanks. Took me some time to complete this.”

Then the questions flew out of her mouth one by one.

Was architecture something he really liked?

What made him choose the cliff as a location to build the house?

What was his inspiration when he planned it out?

How long had he been living in the house?

Does he miss the city?

And the questions flowed on.

Gendry was just happy that none of them were too personal; all questions thrown at him by the stranger were questions he was willing and comfortable to answer.

He watched her take another peek at the window only to laugh when she flinched when lightning struck.

She turned around to face him with an annoyed look, her brows furrowing together, her nose crinkled and the pout on her lips made her look even cuter.

“Come on you baby. Maybe we can watch something while we wait for the rain to stop.”

He fluffed the pillows on his couch and turned on the television only when he was about to sit did he realize that she was still standing, unmoved.

“What?”

“Did you just call me baby?” she asked accusingly.

Gendry sniggered.

“Well, you look like one. Especially when you look pissed.”

He stopped when she marched towards him and slapped him in the arm.

“Stupid,” she mumbled as she took a seat on the couch.

She was still pouting in annoyance yet Gendry couldn’t help laughing at her.

As he sat beside her, she stood up. Thinking she wasn’t happy with their positions. 

Instead of sitting far away from him; she took the discarded blanket from the floor and returned to her seat beside him. She draped the blanket over them and took the remote that he was holding.

Gendry didn’t say a single word as she flicked through the channels.

“You’re starring again,” she said, not taking her eyes away from the screen.

He quickly diverted his eyes away from her and decided that the show in front should be interesting enough for him not to spare her another glance for the next thirty minutes.

He was wrong.

When she finally chose a reality show for them to watch, she simply said...

“You know... I like you.”

Another lightning struck outside, a thunder growled after. She scooted closer to him and pulled the blanket closer to her body.

“Why?” Gendry asked, his voice sounded so small it didn’t sound like him at all.

She looked around them for a moment before answering.

“Well, you took me and Nymeria in without question. You warmed us up, fed us even. And you’re not a bad companion too.”

Gendry opened his mouth to reply when she stopped him. “Unless you’re one of those evil serial killers who live in the woods and feed their prey before deciding to sab them and chop their bodies into pieces.”

She had a wicked smile on her face and Gendry laughed with her.

“I think you’re the evil serial killer in this story.”

“What?!” he shook his head at her mock surprise.

“I mean, you come knocking on my door in the middle of a storm. Maybe you have this plotted out already.”

Then they were both laughing, obviously joking around. Nymeria came into the living room and propped herself on the rug, close to the fire.

As their laughter died down, he felt her nudge his arm with her own, “Seriously. Thanks.”

The honesty in her voice and sincerity on her face made Gendry’s insides shiver.

He watched as the light from the screen and fire danced on her grey eyes, her cheeks flushed from the light cold and her chapped lips trembled.

She’s beautiful, he knew that already. He thought that the moment she dropped the hood of her coat.

She’s affectionate, he realized that with the way she talked about her family and the way she cared for Nymeria.

She’s courteous, she showed that the moment she entered his house and treated it with respect. She did not mention his mother ever again when he said he didn’t want to talk about her. She even offered to do the dishes.

She’s smart, obvious with how she constructed her questions making sure she wasn’t stepping over the line along with every comment and reply she gave to Gendry’s answers, she amazed him.

She’s funny too, with her quirks here and there.

Instead of giving a reply, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and allowed her to cuddle close to him.

Gendry heard her hum in comfort.

***

The first thing Gendry noticed when he woke up the following morning was that he was alone… again.

The rain had stopped.

The sun had risen.

The television was turned off.

The fireplace was left with little to no light.

The golden lab was no longer there on the rug and so was the woman beside him.

Gendry looked around for any signs of her or even Nymeria.

He checked the patio, the bathroom, the kitchen, nothing.

Except for the single piece of paper on the breakfast counter, weighed down by an apple.

_Good morning!_

_I know I should have said goodbye properly but you seemed so peaceful and calm sleeping, I didn’t want to disturb._

_First of all, I want to thank you for everything you did for me and Nymeria last night. I guess that storm wasn’t so bad after all. I made a friend, and so did Nym. Thanks for the dinner too. Careful with the salt next time though._

_I appreciate your kindness and hospitality. Really, I do._

_I never thought I’d be comfortable talking to a stranger and sleeping with him. I mean, like you know. You know what I mean._

_Still, it was a fun night with you. Stupid me, I didn’t even ask for your name. Thankfully, I saw your card holder… Gendry._

_Nice name. Sounds so regal._

_Anyway, I was looking for some paper and pen to write down this message and found them by your telephone along with the card holder._

_Well, I hope I get to see you again. Soon. Hopefully._

_I wasn’t joking around when I said I like you. Because I really do. I think you’ve realized by now how frank I am._

_Thanks again Gendry!_

_I hope I get stranded again in your cozy home._

_-A_

_PS. I mean seriously, a TELEPHONE? Who still uses a telephone in this generation?!_

_PPS. I took one of your cards. Check your phone. <3_

There was no need for Gendry to be told twice, he looked for his phone immediately and found it on the mantel on top of the fireplace. He was not surprised to see a message from an unknown number.

_Hey stranger._

_-Arya_

**Author's Note:**

> I thought of this months ago, the mood board was made shortly after I wrote the intro. Then I got carried away with other prompts and shoved this in the back burner. Thankfully, I finally managed to finish this.
> 
> If you're reading my other story, Home In Winterfell- don't worry I haven't forgotten about that baby.
> 
> Thank you for reading! I hope you liked it. <3
> 
> Happy New Year everyone!
> 
> talk to me on tumblr & ig: coffeexwhiskey


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